Fashion districts

DISCOVER FASHION BRANDS DISTRIBUTED INTO THE MOST IMPORTANT ITALIAN FASHION DISTRICTS

MILAN, LOMBARDY DISTRICT

The Italian city of Milan is recognised internationally as one of the world’s most important fashion capitals, along with Paris, New York and London. It is additionally recognised as the main sartorial hub in the country, with Rome and Florence being other major centres. Throughout the 20th century, the city expanded its role as a fashion centre, with a number of rising designers contributing to Milan’s image as a stylistic capital. Following this development, Milan emerged in the 1960s and 1980s as one of the world’s pre-eminent trendsetters, maintaining this stint well into the 1990s and 2000s and culminating with its entrenchment as one of the “big four” global fashion capitals. As of today, Milan is especially renowned for its role within the prêt-à-porter category of fashion. In 2009, the city was declared as the “fashion capital of the world” by the Global Language Monitor, even surpassing its relative cities.

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FLORENCE, TUSCANY DISTRICT

Florence is regarded by some as the birthplace and earliest centre of the modern (post World War Two) fashion industry in Italy. The Florentine “soirées” of the early 1950s organized by Giovanni Battista Giorgini were events where several now-famous Italian designers participated in group shows and first garnered international attention. Florence has served as the home of the Italian fashion company Salvatore Ferragamo since 1928. Gianfranco Lotti, Gucci, Roberto Cavalli, Ermanno Scervino, Stefano Ricci, Patrizia Pepe, Enrico Coveri and Emilio Pucci were also founded and most of them are still headquartered in Florence. Other major players in the fashion industry such as Prada and Chanel have large offices and stores in Florence or its outskirts. Florence’s main upscale shopping street is Via de’ Tornabuoni, where major luxury fashion houses and jewelry labels, such as Armani and Bulgari, have their elegant boutiques.

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PADUA, VENETO DISTRICT

The city of Padua hosts a prestigious and ancient university, an advanced fashion school and boasts artistic and cultural memories of a glorious past that make it the favourite destination for many tourists from all over the world. Nowadays it is one of the most efficient and largest business centres of Northern Italy. The industrial area of Padua was created in the eastern part of the city in 1946; it is now one of the biggest industrial zones in Europe, having an area of 11 million sqm. The main offices of 1,300 industries are based here, employing 50,000 people. Goods arrive in Padua from every part of Europe to be sent all over the world, especially to Asia. In the industrial zone there are two railway stations, one fluvial port, three truck terminals, two highway exits and a lot of connected services, such as hotels, post offices and directional centres.

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CARPI, EMILIA DISTRICT

The industrial textile-clothing district of Carpi is one of the most important in Italy and one of the few effective throughout Europe. By tradition it is specialized in production of knitwear and clothing, and its strength lies in the high production capacity of small and medium enterprises, which were able to coordinate creativity, design and excellent technical standards in the yarn manufacturing. The firms in the District have developed distinct abilities, know-how and efficiency in a logic of integrated supply chain. The outcome is a competitive network capable of providing either highly specialized services or complete management of the entire production process. This functional network can run with great flexibility according to the production needs. The District is an “intelligent” network, in which creativity and innovation are spread at each stage of the process, from concept to delivery, so as to add value at every phase of manufacture.

BOLOGNA, EMILIA DISTRICT

Bologna is an important railway and motorway hub in Italy and home to the Guglielmo Marconi International Airport, the seventh busiest Italian airport for passenger traffic. The economy of Bologna is characterized by a flourishing industrial sector, traditionally based on the transformation of agricultural and zootechnical products. It also includes machinery, automobiles, footwear, textile, engineering, chemical, printing and publishing industries, as well as a strong financial, insurance and retail activity. The city’s Fiera District (exhibition centre) is one of the largest in Europe, with important yearly international expos focused on the automobile sector, ceramics for the building industry and food industry. In addition, an important retail and wholesale fashion trade (the “Centergross” in Funo di Argelato, esabilished in 1977) and one of the largest Italian food processing companies have their headquarters in Bologna area.

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RIMINI, ROMAGNA DISTRICT

Rimini is a major international tourist destination and seaside resort, among the most famous ones in Europe and the Mediterranean basin thanks to a long well-equipped sandy beach. The economy of the city is entirely based on tourism, whose development started in the first half of the 19th century and increased after World War II. The city’s others economic sectors have been influenced by the development of tourism. Commerce is one of the main economic sectors, thanks to the presence of a large wholesale center (GrosRimini), department stores, hypermarkets and hundreds of shops and boutiques. Industry includes various companies active in food sector, constructions, furnishing, publishing, clothing and footwear. The district of San Mauro Pascoli is highly specialized in footwear and leather industry hosting companies leaders in the sector such as Baldinini, Casadei, Pollini, Sergio Rossi and Vicini.

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ANCONA, MARCHE DISTRICT

Ancona is one of the main ports on the Adriatic Sea, especially for passenger traffic, and is the main economic and demographic centre of Marche region. Since the 1980s the economy of the district has been radically transformed, without however repudiating its rural past. Many of the small craft workshops scattered throughout the rural settlements have modernised and become small businesses, some of which have become major renowned brands (Indesit, Tod’s, Guzzini, Teuco). This evolution led to the emergence of ‘specialised’ industrial areas, which are still profitable: footwear and leather goods in a large area straddling the provinces of Macerata and Fermo; furniture in the Pesaro area in particular; household appliances and textile industry in the province of Ancona, in which the main engineering companies are also to be found.

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NAPLES, CAMPANIA DISTRICT

Naples is Italy’s fourth-largest economy after Milan, Rome and Turin, a major cargo terminal and its port is one of the Mediterranean’s largest and busiest. The city has experienced significant economic growth since World War II, being one of Italy and Europe’s top tourist cities. In recent times, there has been a move away from a traditional agriculture-based economy in the province of Naples to one based on service industries. In early 2002, there were over 249,590 enterprises operating in the province. Most of them are located at CIS, an industrial area near the town of Nola. The creative and commercial heart of Naples is Chiaia district. Stretching from Via Riviera di Chiaia to Via Calabritto, then Piazza dei Martiri, Via Santa Caterina, Rodino square, Via Filangieri and Via Dei Mille this elegant district represents a path across the main brands of design and fashion and hosts the annual event “Napoli Moda Design”.